


Pay The Price

by Ziven



Series: Be Cool Universe [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Canon recap, FATE!!!!!, Gen, The Gods Always Have A Plan, The Pharaoh walks among us, everything is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-26
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2019-09-16 05:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16947591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziven/pseuds/Ziven
Summary: Debts of the father are those of the son. The Gods decided, when it was all said and done, to gift Yami for his hard work.





	Pay The Price

**Author's Note:**

> This is a large part of the premise for the Be Cool series, although you don't have to have read ANY of the other stories to understand this one. This is the very first event in the continuity. I wrote this a long time ago, but due to its weird formatting didn't post it. I'm posting it now, because I've spoken to a few people who were curious about the start of the series and how it went down. I'll ask that you excuse the present tense, but I wasn't talented enough to rework it in a way that feel retains the emotion while still going through the events.

Leaders are not leaders because they are liked, they are leaders because they need to be.

Atem began with a good relationship with his father. They talked often and he was taught much. From a young age, he was made aware of the place he would take.

The idea of being a ruler was an inky murky shadow of a thing to him. It took many trials in his youth to force shape to the many of the ideas and lessons his father imparted to him. It was clear that he wanted Atem to understand: that a leader not a person who wants, but is the best person to fill the slot; a person with the initiative to step forward and make decisions in difficult times, willing to shoulder what those decisions mean and stand for.

There was not enough time.

From his father's death stems a small army of issues, the least of which is trying to picture the shape of the leader he is supposed to be. Atem can't permit himself to think about them. There are clearly other problems looming over Egypt. If he wallows in his own regret and self-pity, he is wasting effort that his father invested. The many are prioritized before the one.

In fighting with Thief King Bakura, with Zorc, he lost his friends along the way. Atem had to face the fact that he was momentarily defeated. The Items made to help them survive turned out to be of  _decay_ and  _death_ and the suffering of others. Because one of his own Priests performed the ritual, the blame is placed on his head. There are too many things happening at once, too many stories connected to his father that are unfinished. Without his friends and Priests, battle after battle is draining. Zorc and Thief King Bakura take everything from him.

Debts of the father are those of the son. Atem is only one man. He can lay down his life to fight for others, but all Egyptians know that you cannot pay the debt of two lives with one.

There is no other choice. Under the counsel of the gods, it is decided that he must sleep. It would take the soul of a worthy other to help him defeat the evil looming over the world; a tactful retreat, rather than a surrender.

Yami picks up this story. But the memories were lost in the process of locking himself away. He has to fight to remember his purpose. In the future the game is less harmful physically. But the danger of playing is not removed. 

Yuugi and his friends become something akin to Atem's Priests. They are there to help, and eventually they do travel through time and space to Egypt with him, to rediscover his past and lend him their strength to defeat Zorc. As they progress, the spirits of the Priests grow restless; many of them even appear, trying to help, although they cannot - at least, not in the same way.

Their lives were already given. Those deeds were done. The past cannot be postponed in the same way that the future can.

Yami relived it all.

It is not a matter of memory, but of emotion. When Bakura lays the path for Zorc's resurrection, he is finally awarded his own body. Yami is free to walk around and explore the smaller details of his past. He can follow the wisps of voices and smells and tastes from his childhood. Certain things make more sense. He knows who Isis is, finds out that Set is his cousin and that is why he has always been intertwined with Kaiba. Yuugi's grandfather, even, was destined to be involved; he is one of the Priests, too.

The set up becomes clear. All paths lead to this End Game.

 _It's time_ , he thinks. To face what he once couldn't, to settle things once and for all. He will ensure that good triumphs over evil. And then he will rest. Finally rest.

Yami knows that what he's seeing are his memories. But he doesn't recognize anything. Confused gazes are thrust at him when he appears flummoxed. Eyes that sparkle with recognition are the eyes of strangers. Carefully sculpted walls that he's sure he once touched every day, feel foreign; the lack of sleek, gilded glass from the city he grew accustomed to is gone. He can't help but think of how old everything is.

How old  _he_ is.

Everyone calls him Atem, and it takes time for him to get used to the name. That isn't his name, he decides, it can't be him. He doesn't remember being Atem. He is someone else entirely.

Once again he seeks out the truth concerning his father's death. He discovers the plot of his uncle. Again, he discovers that the Items' sinister origins--even his own.

The Puzzle that has, until now, been his only home; the object of longing and power and comfort. That which made this possible, that guided him to his destiny, was... evil. Was he, too, a product of that?

These are things that weigh heavy on Yami's soul - but for the same soul to suffer them twice, the second as intense as the last?

But he has to trudge on, even though the burden grows heavier. Why doesn't he remember _this_?: Fealties and oaths, the mixture of sweat and blood; the salty taste of tears. A woman that could have been his wife, his queen, snatched from his fingers. Family, loyal and true, reduced to a mere rival in the future. His best friend, now a cardboard piece in a deck on Yuugi's shelf. 

Where is the justice in that? These memories are pain - crippling, paralyzing. But they are worth fighting for. He has seen the future, been to the future - he is the future. Yami, and Atem have to go on. They can't let Zorc be victorious. 

Yuugi's fate is worth protecting; Jounouchi, Anzu, Honda, Otogi, all of them.

He is not the same man who conceded; instead, Yami inspired good in Mai and even Seto Kaiba; helped rid Marik of his demons (a debt settled with Isis, now that he knows what was given to him), and rescued countless others from negative forces.

And then there is also Ryou. 

It seems a small matter to mention Ryou, to think of him when the sky is darkening and the palace is crumbling. But it is so important.

If nothing else, he - and the Thief - are owed many lives. For in finding the origin of the Items - including the Puzzle that has been so good to him - Yami has discovered  _Kul Elna_. A frightening tale from Atem's childhood (the memory of a memory) comes back to haunt him.

Kul Elna is real, and he ( _they?_ ) must answer for it.

He already lost one life - his memories, experiences, the right to decide (or even know) if he lived or died in service - and lived another. It was time for both of them to an end.

Two, to pay the debt; a debt so large that, in the future, a small boy had to house evil in his soul to help Yami pay it.

Despite this, Yami believes the Gods to be fair. He never believed, even after regaining his memories, that his own sacrifice would be enough. Bakura has the upper hand. It would take more than he would give. But there is so much more at stake. The gods must be doing the best they can. He is ready to throw himself at Zorc. Everything he faced in Domino, he believes, was set to prepare him for this moment.

No more memories, no more fighting, no more struggling. No screams, no sobs, no wreckage. The debt will be repaid. There will be silence again, and Yami will sleep.

And Ryou will finally be free.

Many men are afraid of dying, terrified of death and decay. They want nothing more than to live forever. But Yami has lived forever and there is nothing in it for him. He knows that he will be loved and remembered, and that is enough. He saw the display at the museum, saw the etchings on Marik's back. It is honor beyond what he deserves.

When it is all said and done, when he finds himself among the dead and dying, it isn't over yet. He feels his heartbeat, strong despite the battering he's taken, despite his injury. 

Yuugi is there waiting on the horizon, tears in his eyes. The RPG is over.

They exit the game, and Yami cannot retreat into the Puzzle. The Gate in intact but it is closed. They both know what must be done. His friends can't leave without the Ceremonial duel, and neither can he.

Yami's soul quivers for release. His family is waiting for him, in the tombs of those who have come and led and bled and died before him, and just done so again. He longs to join them.

The Puzzle withdraws. Though Yami can feel the weight of the gold around his neck he realizes that there is no power swelling in it. It will not help him complete this duel, and he doesn't know if it is not supposed to it is exhausted or if. His guess is that it's both. Yami fears that the Millennium Items will not let him go. 

He tells Yuugi this, that they both have to do their best, that the roads end here. They have to finish something that neither of them started. Yuugi accepts, as Yami knew he would.

He can't help but be proud. He now knows that he pushed Yuugi and his friends so hard not because of the urging of the Puzzle, but because he himself had experienced true friendship, true devotion, and his heart aches. They needed to grow, and they did. Yuugi has learned much about friendship and bravery, loyalty and sacrifice.

When the duel ends there are tears. Why is Yuugi crying?

He can only thank the Gods that Yuugi and his friends are intact. They can go home. They can leave and live out the remainder of their potential. They can do so much, change so many lives, feel so many things - and avoid the things he'd felt.

They all say their goodbyes. Yami is told he will be missed, although a bitter part of him does not understand why. His presence and the problems that chased after (and yet led) him have only caused disruption.

Another debt. This one can only be repaid by his absence.

Power surges through the Puzzle one more and Yami lets go. Suddenly it doesn't matter whether he is Yami or Atem or someone else. Let the powers that be sort it out. He has sacrificed enough. This body, sustained only by the acquisition of memories, the power of emotion, the presence of good and evil, is spent. There is nothing else it can give. His soul suffered for Kul Elna, was lain prostrate for it in the name of justice.

 _I'm done_ , he thinks, as he comes  _un_ done. He smiles at Yuugi as golden light washes over him.  _I'm free_.

But it was not to be.

When Yami next opens his eyes, he is surprised to be opening them; shocked to feel a light breeze on his flesh; terrified to feel air swelling in his lungs. He shudders to think that this is the afterlife. He has been a spirit before, and he did not need to breathe.

He does not know what do when he sees Yuugi's face, giddy and laughing, ecstatic that he's awake and alive and in front of him. He recognizes the pale paint on the walls, the simple dresser and the small bed he's lying on. The feel of it on his  _flesh_  is familiar. He doesn't want it to be.

Yami simply sobs into the sheet beneath him.

When there are no more tears, all that is left is anger. The Puzzle, he decides, is the cause of this. It is still on the heavy chain around his neck. He thrashes, nearly rips it off and throws it in his rage. He doesn't realize until after the that he doesn't feel any different. There is no difference between the Puzzle being on or off. The weight of magic, of power, is absent.

His heart stops. Yami frantically searches his mind, remembers with pain and pleasure his experience in Domino, his duels with Kaiba, conversations with Yuugi. Egypt is also there; the agony, the satisfaction. How light his body felt when the Puzzle had taken hold of it. When he had been released.

The happiness.

With a start, he realizes that if his memories are his to keep, they were no longer in the Puzzle. Yami scrambles to the Item, picks it up off of the floor. When he holds the Puzzle in his hands again, he realizes that there is nothing inside of it. He turns it over to the Eye of Wadjet and stares at it. He wants to go inside, to retreat and hide and figure out what is happening to him. Yuugi watches in confusion.

The Puzzle is empty. There is nothing to go into. His rooms, his maze - all gone. Gold glitters and shines in his hands, no longer whispering promises. It is a hollow thing, now. And Yami is, too.

He stays curled up in bed, head pressed down in the direction of the floor. Yami is prostrate, praying. He has never prayed this hard or for this long. No food passes through his lips, or water. Yuugi becomes more worried with each passing day. But he does not speak. He  _will_  be one with the Gods, and nothing else matters until they answer.

Nine days pass, and they are all silent.

Then Yuugi tells him of a conversation had with Ryou. The Ring is different, too. Ryou can finally take it off.

By different, he means empty, but Yuugi doesn't understand. Ryou does, and confirms it in happy tones over the phone. Ishizu has stopped having visions. Marik cannot compel even a small rat. The many souls powering the Items have gone back to their rightful places.  _They_  are free.

Yami is not.


End file.
